By Ashiadey Dotse
Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Baah Forson has announced a series of new policy measures aimed at boosting Ghana’s gold reserves, increasing foreign exchange inflows, and strengthening fiscal discipline in the short to medium term.
Presenting the policy directions in Parliament on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, Dr Forson said the government will reform the current arrangement under which the Bank of Ghana acquires 20 percent of gold produced by large-scale mining companies.
New gold acquisition measures
He explained that an Inter-Agency Committee will be set up to ensure compliance by large-scale mining firms. The committee will be co-chaired by the Ministers for Lands and Natural Resources and Finance, and will include the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, as well as the Chief Executive Officers of the Minerals Commission and the Ghana Gold Board.
Under the new arrangement, the government will invoke its legal right to purchase at least 20 percent of gold output from large-scale mining firms. This is expected to translate into a minimum of 0.57 tonnes of gold per week.
Dr Forson said the gold acquired will be in doré form and processed locally to promote value addition. Payments will be made in cedis at the prevailing interbank exchange rate, with discounts based on volume.
The refined gold will first be processed by local refineries before being shipped to London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)-approved refineries for final processing and certification. The gold will then be added to Ghana’s physical reserves. He stressed that any future sale of the gold by the central bank would require prior approval from Cabinet and Parliament.
According to the minister, these measures will promote transparency, good governance, cost reduction, and help local refineries meet international certification standards.
Focus on small-scale mining
The minister also outlined new strategies targeting the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) sector.
He said the Ghana Gold Board will implement measures to purchase a minimum of 2.45 tonnes of gold weekly from small-scale miners through official channels. Over the next three years, the board aims to buy about 127 tonnes of ASM gold annually.
At current global prices, this is expected to generate more than $20bn in foreign exchange each year.
To achieve this, the Ghana Gold Board will secure sufficient funds to buy three to four weeks’ worth of gold to ensure continuous participation in the market. From March 2026, the board will take full responsibility for signing off-take agreements and selling all ASM gold it procures.
The minister added that the board will introduce gold-backed derivative trading and hedging programmes to manage market risks. Price incentives, including bonuses and purchases at spot world market prices, may also be introduced to discourage smuggling and encourage licensed miners to sell through official channels.
In the medium term, the government will promote the formalisation of small-scale mining, improve traceability along the value chain, and support local gold refining to maximise export returns.
An agreement will also be signed between the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Gold Board to ensure that all foreign exchange earned under this policy is sold directly to the central bank.
Tackling illegal mining and environmental damage
Dr Forson further announced that the Ghana Armed Forces will undertake a nationwide water-body cleansing campaign within designated mining areas.
The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) will intensify its operations against illegal mining activities, especially in water bodies and forest reserves. The government will also scale up land reclamation and other sustainability initiatives.
Other measures to boost reserves
Beyond gold, the finance minister said the government will pursue broader structural reforms to increase foreign exchange inflows and reduce outflows.
These include scaling up non-traditional exports such as cashew, shea, rubber, and processed agricultural products; reviving the cocoa sector; and implementing the National Policy on Integrated Oil Palm Development to establish 100,000 hectares of new oil palm plantations.
The government will also strengthen digital systems to capture more remittances from the diaspora and accelerate the development of new oil fields such as Pecan.
Dr Forson noted that Ghana has historically spent about $3bn annually to address energy sector shortfalls and payments to Independent Power Producers. He described this as a “leaky bucket” that has drained the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
To address this, the government will implement a Gas-to-Power Transformation Policy, including the construction of a state-owned 1,200-megawatt power plant, a second gas processing plant, and reforms to attract more investment into the upstream petroleum sector.
The minister concluded that maintaining fiscal discipline and achieving a primary surplus will be critical to slowing the depletion of foreign exchange reserves and ensuring long-term economic stability.
